Michelin joins Clemson auto park

At Michelin North America in Greenville Thursday, from left, Gov. Mark Sanford, Michelin NA Chairman and President Jim Micali and Clemson President James Barker stand and acknowledge the crowd during a press conference announcing Michelin's involvement in the new Clemson International Center for Automotive Research. Staff/Owen Riley Jr . e-mail this story to a friend Related Previous coverage • BMW eyes partners for auto park

The tiremaker said it will also contribute $3 million to endow a professorship in electronics systems integration at Clemson's Greenville campus.

The company said it is especially interested in electronics because "Michelin is more than a tire company. We are a company committed to improved mobility," said Michael Fanning, the company's vice president of public relations.

Jim Micali, chairman and president of Michelin North America, announced the financial contribution and the company's involvement in Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research at the company's Greenville headquarters.

Scores of Michelin employees lined the three open walkways above the atrium where the announcement was made, and business and government leaders said Michelin's and BMW's involvement will serve as a magnet bringing other corporate partners to the project.

Greenville businessman Ruben Montalvo said the announcement was "awesome" and would help create jobs in the area.

"I think it is a very positive thing. I think we are very fortunate," he said. "It's not so much the opportunity for high-tech jobs. It's the other jobs that will spin off."

Gov. Mark Sanford, on hand for the announcement, said the research center and Michelin's involvement were "important to the economic prospects of everyone in South Carolina. We are in a world of hurt when it comes to the economy and jobs."

Michelin knew it had a role to play in the ICAR project from the beginning, Micali said. The tire maker began conducting research in the Upstate in 1975, has had research partnerships with Clemson through the years and looks to the university for engineering graduates to fill jobs.

Terry Gettys, president and chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research and Development Corp., said the company is interested in electronics because it believes "tires in the future will need to interact with other electronic systems," including those that let the tires warn the driver of low air pressure.

Michelin conducts ongoing electronics research and presently has a direct tire pressure monitoring system for passenger cars and light trucks.

The company said it is pursuing state and other matching funds to increase the endowment, and its employees will be faculty members at the graduate school, Micali said.

Gettys said that Michelin engineers are helping prepare the school's curriculum.

The automotive research center is expected to create high-paying, knowledge-based jobs, said Clemson President Jim Barker, and will drive the state's economy in the future.

Bob Faith, the state's Commerce Secretary, said that companies like Michelin and BMW Manufacturing Corp. have "created the bones of the automotive cluster we are filling in" with the research center, he said.

Ben Haskew, president of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, said, "It's the icing on the cake of the new economy. It will have an immeasurable effect on the region," acting as a magnet for other companies.

Merle Code, an attorney and former chamber chairman, said, the park "should be a tremendous boon to our area, the region and the future of economic development here."

By bringing in research and others working at the park, the community adds great intellectual capacity, he said.

"You're adding a different folk to your community mix," he said.

Robert Geolas, newly named director of the International Center for Automotive Research, said the center is on the cutting edge.

"All across the country, the world even, you're seeing research universities develop these parks," he said. "Most are business parks, but not this one."

It has the ingredients to be unique — a public-private partnership that pulls in community support.

He warned, however, that a vital research park doesn't grow overnight.

"We're doing something new and different and taking it to the next level," Geolas said.

To avoid becoming overly dependent on the automotive sector, diversity is a necessity, he said. That includes diversity in company size, diversity in research and diversity in where the research migrates. Much of the research could be used by other industrial sectors than automotive, and Geolas said he hopes that happens.

He's also interested in the research translating not only to top-flight knowledge-based jobs. He wants to be sure that other well-paying manufacturing and technical jobs are created, as well.

Barker said the center will be a boon for Clemson students.

"It's giving our students an opportunity they wouldn't have. It's a different kind of education, having engineers from Michelin and BMW teaching you," he said.

Chris Przirembel, Clemson's vice president for research, said, "This project has moved the university to another whole plateau. The project continues to gain substantial momentum at national and international levels. An increasing number of companies and organizations are expressing serious interest in locating in or near the auto research campus."

Investment in the 400-acre research campus has nearly reached $100 million. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in November, with ICAR up and running in 2005.